Ukraine border issues will prevent anything from changing, says expert
Transit businessman and former Estonian government minister Raivo Vare said the Minsk talks allegedly took place after Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote a letter to EU leaders.
He told ETV's “Välisilm” Russia had a game plan and had calculated exactly to open talks, what to offer and how to take the maximum. Vare said Putin did not get all he hoped for, but did not lose much either.
The key question of the Russian-Ukrainian border will remain in the air, Vare said, “That means only one thing - things will continue to go on as they have so far.”
Vare said Putin does not intend to annex eastern Ukraine, but to keep pressure on Kyiv and stop it from joining NATO, adding that Crimea is "almost gone" now.
“Despite that fact that our wishes were not inserted into the measures on February 12 there are a few points which we plan to follow. First, Ukraine's status outside the spheres of influence. For us it is very important that Ukraine stay outside anti-Russian military alliances. If we see Kyiv displaying any intent to join a military union, then we will halt all relations and consider the Minsk agreement void,” said Denis Pushilin, the representative of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.
Frozen conflicts are common in Russian foreign policy for the past decades. A number of frozen conflicts surround Russian, including the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the two breakaway regions in Georgia and Transnistria.
Editor: J.M. Laats